West Midlands-based Britishvolt, the UK’s leading investor in battery technologies, has announced that it has entered into an exclusive technology collaboration agreement with Siemens UK.

The collaboration will see Siemens provide Britishvolt with access to its automation, electrification solutions and ‘digital twin’ manufacturing technology. This innovative system gives Britishvolt the opportunity to simulate gigaplant production processes and flows ahead of construction completion, optimising design and efficiencies.

It also promises to speed up delivery times, allowing Britishvolt to stay on track to deliver the first lithium-ion batteries at the end of 2023.

Additionally, Siemens is providing Britishvolt with its latest design and simulation development tools, accelerating the time it takes for “state of the art’ lithium-ion battery cells to go from laboratory to production at scale.

Britishvolt CEO, Orral Nadjari, said: “We are delighted to enter into this technology collaboration. Working with Siemens and utilising its global expertise in digital twin and simulation technologies will play a pivotal role in Britishvolt achieving its tight deadlines to begin producing world-class batteries, at scale, by the end of 2023.

“Being able to simulate production of lithium-ion batteries and cell development speeds up a complicated process and allows us to bring crucial batteries to market quicker. Working with leading global partners such as Siemens helps us stay firmly on course in our mission to build the UK's first battery gigaplant."

carbon net zero goals
Carl Ennis, CEO Siemens GB and Ireland, said: “This is an exciting and vital project to quickly ramp up availability at commercial scale of the batteries required by the electric vehicle (EV) market to help the UK reach its carbon net zero goals by 2050. In order to give manufacturers and end customers the confidence to switch to EVs, we need to have this crucial part of the supply chain here in the UK.

"Siemens has the manufacturing and energy infrastructure technology and services to help Britishvolt build the most efficient, sustainable gigaplant. We are keen to start working with Britishvolt to get the Blyth site operational by 2023, supplying batteries and delivering crucial investment in the North East, helping to level up the UK economy."

Britishvolt's gigaplant is one the largest industrial investments ever undertaken in the UK and the largest in the North East England since the 1980s. With construction due to begin this summer, Britishvolt remains on track to begin production of world-leading lithium-ion batteries in 2023.